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DIY Newspaper Seedling Pots

I’ve decided to grow my herbs and vegetables by seed this year and when doing some internet surfing on the topic I came across this video on YouTube that shows you how to make small pots out of newspaper. This seemed perfect, as I was considering buying a couple flats of 10 cm pots to transplant my sprouted seeds to once they outgrow their seed starters. These pots are free (or close to it depending on your newspaper situation at home) and are biodegradable which is great for transplanting.

I personally like the look of these square pots over other paper pots that I’ve seen on the net that are round. Plus, I would think that they would be easier to fit into trays, making this design more ideal, at least for me.

On my coffee break at the office, I decided to make one to test out the design. I followed the instructions in the video, using a slightly smaller than standard sheet of newspaper (around 11 inches by 23 inches) and the pot that came out was great. It’s around 7.5 cm square and fairly sturdy given the fact that its made out of newspaper. It’s a little lopsided due to a flap that is left on the bottom, but I would think that once it’s full of soil it will sit flat. I’d prefer the finished product to be a little bigger, closer to 10 cm, but I’m sure this would work OK. I’ll have to find myself a larger format newspaper soon and try again to see what size the finished pot will end up being then.

The description of the YouTube video says that the pots should last around 2 months, which should be more than enough time for me to get the pots transplanted outdoors. I would say that if you plant on starting seeds indoors this year to give one of these little guys a shot. They might end up being a cheap and perfect solution for you.